Sanitary neck protector



March 6, 1951 N. CALUTHIS SANITARY NECK PROTECTOR Filed Dec. 14, 1948 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Mar; 6, 1951 UNI TED TAT ES PAT-EN T OFFICE @SANITARY'NECK PROHEE'CT-OR f Nick Caluthis, NewYork,N.Y.

-flpplicationiDecember 14, 1948,."SerialNo; 65,210

3 Claims. 1

.This invention shas reference to.-;sani-tary protective devicesparticularlyvadapted for use :by barbers, -hairedresserswdentists, physicians,.:or in the :home, and by :means .of which the meek and part :of the;face of:itheawearerliszprotected from contact with ibarbers z-and z'hair-zdressers aprons. cloths aor dither $heets :ggenerellly :employed when thei'hairsis'heingitreated.

In :barber :shnps, hair-:dressing Lparlors, 33nd other places whereitherhair-miicutarorztreatedgitis customary .to :place :a .fabricshee't or cloth *about the ineck :of :the person rbieing treated, sand the edge :of such wsheet scom'es l'into wcontact with .the neck and ..chin "of the user. llhe sheet or cloth so used is applied itol'successive i'persons being treated and thusfis usedfon 'a substantialmumber ofPpersonsibeforeibeingilaundered. "filihisrisrather unsanitary proc'e'dure. .In san effort to prevent contact between the neck :"and the edge .or top portion of the sheet-or cloth, it has "been proposed thatia thin strip- 'OT DH IJGI bB WIaDDEd about the neck before the c'loth "is applied, to t'hus interposesuch-a protective strip between the :neck and the cloth. The \s'tr -ip employed for th'is purpose was :tliin and narrow and generally, unless the cloth was tightly-appliedabout the neck'an'd caused some discomfort to the :user, the paper strip sliddownwardly,particularly 'duringrmovements ofthe user,-and again brought theedge of the clothiinto contact=with the neck.

The present invention proposes a structure which will avoid the-deficiencies above pointed out. It-contemplates the provision ofa device having-a top portion=wliich is foldabl'e down over the top edge of the cloth ian'd thus e'fie'c'tivly prevents this portionof the cloth from coming into contact with the neck. It further proposes the use of a. pad "member-which comes into contact with the neck and efiectively'seals\theJspace between the neck and the strip placedaround the same and thus prevents .the entity -of cut hair down into the collar of'th'e user. "Itfur'ther contemplates the provision of 'a forward extension or flap extending under the ail-fin of the u'ser and being thus 5 interposed between the chin and the cloth and preventing contact of "the chin with thecloth.

In addition, the invention 'has 'ior one cot its objects, the "provision of a nek protecting strip which not only effectively prevents contact of the neck and face with the hair-collecting cloth, but also provides a napkin by which the barber or hair-dresser is enabled to brush away the out hairs or remove excess shaving soap or lotion, thus obviating the use of a brush or other re- 2 peatedly-used, and not often sanitary means otten .employed for this purpose.

:These'and other objects are attained 'by the invention, amoreparticular description of which will fhereinafter appear and'be set-forth in the olaimsappendedrhereto.

-In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodimentof theinvention is disclosed, Fig. lis a view looking at the inner .face of 'themrotector; Fig.2 is a view looking at the outer face of the protector, witha portion of the some .brokenaway; .Fig. 3 is asectional .view taken 0n ;the-11ne:33-.of-Fig. lplooking inthe direction of'the:arrows, ;and Fig.4 is *a perspective view of v the device as itappears whenin use.

Referring tothedrawing, l indicates the body of the improved sanitary protector. Since the article ..is of a single-use :type, it is preferably madezof'aesoftip-aper. it maybe madein single ply, ;or :may be of the .2 soft :multi-ply paper I often kno-wnas facial tissue. The protector includes azneck-encircling strip portion 1 6 which is narrowest :atrits ends H2 and I3 and of substantial width at rits eenter, such widest portion constituting aachin-protecting flap member 7.

rsecuredito the :inneriace of 'the strip portion [:6 is axsoft, protective 1pad.2 which can be-composed-of icotton,:multi-layeredpaper, or any in expensive, soft, pad-like-material. This pad 2 is disposed against ;the neck aoi the user when the protector:applied..-and it -'forms-a sealing strip, preventing itheientry o1 h'air down into the collar ofthe user. The pad 2;may 'be affixed to the inside Jfa'ce [of the .strip :IB by any suitable fastening me'an's,;such3.as'by :thespaced staples *6, by a suitable adhesive, or by other known means.

I'I hetpadZZ lSTdf'TCOIISidEIYBZblYilBSS width than the widthof .ith'ei'strip 1.6 and the-upper edge of the pad? is disposed :wellbelow the top edge 3 of the 'strip'ito therebyzprovide a marginal edge portion 5 on:t'heistrip betweentheitop edge ofthe pad and the top -edge =3 of the strip. This edge portion 5 provides a :portion :which extends for the length of=the:*strip i 6 which can be *down-turned as indicated in dotted linesinFig. 3, on the line I5 in Fig. 4, to ithus 'overlie the top edge of the protective sheet or :clo'th M and keep the same from contact with the neck.

:As will -be noted from Figs. 1 and 2, the lower edge of the strip I6 is provided with a pair of spaced, inwardly-directed slits 8 which converge from the lower edge I! of the strip in a direction toward the top of the strip. These slits define a flap 1 between them.

The loweredge I! of the strip I6 is formed with a central neck portion I l by means of which it is integrally attached to a rectangular napkin portion 9. The neck H is weakened by the tear line I on which the napkin 9 may be torn away to thereby separate it from the strip NS for a purpose to be presently described.

From the foregoing, the operation of the improved protective device will be readily understood. To use the same, the strip portion I6 is wrapped about the neck of the user with the flap portion 1 at the front and located under the chin of the user. The ends l2 and i3 of the strip 16 are overlappedto the required extent at the back of the users neck and the strip is maintained about the neck by either coupling these overlapped ends together by means of a pin, by a piece of adhesive tape, or by applying the cloth or sheet l4 around the neck of the user over the strip and pinning the cloth in the known manner. When the cloth I4 is applied about the neck on the outside of the strip IS, the strip will have its pad 2 firmly but comfortably held against the neck, and such pad will seal the neck opening against the entry of cut hairs. The top portion of the strip IE, or that part located above the pad 2 and indicated at 5, is then folded down as at to overlie the top edge of the cloth or sheet l4 thus covering this edge and preventing direct contact of the same with the neck. This top edge of the cloth or sheet is also inserted beneath the chin-protecting flap 1, the slits 8 permitting such insertion, so that the flap 1 will thereon be located beneath the chin of the user on the outside of the cloth so that should he bring his chin downwardly, it will contact this protective flap rather than come into contact with the cloth or sheet l4.

Either before or after the protector is applied to the user as above explained, the napkin 9 is detached along the line [0 and is placed aside for use during the barbering or hair-dressing operation. That is to say, after the hair has been cut or treated or after the person has had his hair treated, or has been shaved, this napkin 9 is usable to brush away the cut hair, wipe away excess shaving cream or hair or face lotion, thus obviating the use of towels or brushes which are, in some shops, used more than once and are thus not strictly sanitary.

It will be clear that with the use of an article of the character described, a toroughly sanitary protector is provided. The shape, size and arrangement of the parts are such that when the protector has been applied about the neck it will maintain its position thereon and prevent contact of the neck with the edge or with other parts of the cloth sheet. The edge of the cloth sheet is confined under the down-turned top portion of the strip l6 and hence prevented from contacting the neck. The front flap 1 on the strip It protects the chin from contact with the cloth sheet at all times. In addition, the provision of a napkin on the protector provides the barber or hair-dresser with a sanitary means by which the cut hair may be brushed away or excess soap or lotion removed, or it can be used for other barbering, hair-dressing or medical uses.

' While I have herein suggested the use of the 4 protective article in barber shops, hair-dressing parlors, hospitals or dressing rooms, it will be apparent that it may be used in any environment where an article of this character is desirable or necessary. It will also be apparent that it may be used with or without the attached and separable napkin. Also, in cases where a relatively secure seal between the strip and the neck is not necessary, as in instances where the hair is not being cut, the pad 2 might be omitted. Also, while I have shown the article in a welldefined and specific shape, it will be clear that such might be varied to suit requirements. The device is, of course, intended for single use, after which it is discarded. Hence it is desirable that the same be made in whole or in part of paper or other relatively inexpensive materials, permitting such single, and resultantly wholly sanitary, use, a

What I claim is:

1.A sanitary protector comprising, a paper sheet including a neck-encircling strip portion and a napkin or bib portion connected together by a ncek, a severance line across said neck by means of which the napkin portion may be detached from the neck-encircling strip portion, the lower edge of the strip portion being slit inwardly at spaced points, the strip being widest in the area located between the slits, a detachable pad attached on the inside face of the strip, the top edge of the pad being located downwardly from the top edge of the strip to provide a portion of said strip above the pad which is foldable downwardly over the edge of a cloth that is fitted about the neck over the strip.

2. A sanitary protector comprising, a neckencircling strip having a wide center portion and narrower ends, the lower edge of the strip being provided with a pair of inwardly-directed slits defining a flap between them, said flap constituting the widest portion of the strip, an elongated pad attached to the inside face of the strip and spaced downwardly from the top edge of the same, and a detachable napkin attached to the lower edge of the strip and forming a protective apron at the front of the wearer.

3. A sanitary protector comprising, a neck-encircling paper strip having a wide central portion and narrower ends, the lower edge of the strip being provided with a plurality of upwardlydirected slits defining a flap between them, said flap constituting the widest portion of said strip, and a detachable napkin attached to the lower edge of the strip and forming a protective apron at the front of the wearer.

NICK CALUTHIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 776,041 Wysard Nov. 29, 1904 811,096 Scott Jan. 30, 1906 866,752 Way Sept. 24, 1907 1,995,760 Webster Mar. 26, 1935 2,116,685 Nicolet May 10, 1938 2,262,010 Kuehne Nov. 11, 1941 

